blazers, sonics, and the nba draft

I’m sorry. I have to indulge myself every now and then on what’s fairly a quasi “I take myself too seriously” blog. I do have other interests like sports. Enjoyment of sports is a nice way of saying I’m “a recovering sports addict.” I couldn’t even hack playing Division II sports so I have to indulge in pummelling people in fantasy sports or crushing [attempting] other Questers in basketball. I even tried to dominate a basketball night of fathers from my daughter’s school about three years ago. That domination led to a ruptured Achilles.

After being a fair weather Seattle Supersonics fan all year – and not caring if they’re going to move or not, I [along with probably many others] suddenly got very interested again. In a change of fortunes, the Sonics nabbed the #2 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. Even more incredible, the Portland Blazers got the #1 pick which = Greg Oden. Suddenly, the Portland Blazers will be an automatic playoff team – even in the Western Conference. Imagine a lineup of Brandon Roy, Zach Randolph, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, and for now, Jarret Jack. The curse of selecting Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan is finally over for Portland. Look for them to sign Chauncey Billups and they’ll compete with anyone.

But, I digress…this post is about the Supersonics. It’s obvious that they’re going to pick freshman sensation Kevin Durant. So, here’s my suggestions as a wanna be GM for the Sonics…

Ray Allen can still play. He still has 3 great years left. Keep him and the sweetest shooting stroke.

Luke Ridnour is a good guard. Nowhere close to Nash but very serviceable. Keep him and let him run which is where he thrives. We need to let this team run like never before and hope he’s working on his jumper right now as you read this blog.

Kevin Durant at small forward. He’ll start instantaneously and will win Rookie of the Year. While it would be nice to re-sign Rashard Lewis, we can’t afford to keep him. And we need to trade someone valuable to get value in return in a sign-and-trade.

Chris Wilcox/Nick Collison at the PF positions. Both of these guys understand their roles and can play Center when they do the Phoenix imitation. If Wilcox leaves via free agency, we’re good with Collison.

All of our centers are busts. The previous GMs should be fired. Swift? Sene? Petro? Where’s McIlvaine [sp?] when you need him! Actually, they did fire their GM and are looking for a new GM. Please contact me.

We can trade Rashard Lewis in a sign and trade [plus one of our 37 centers] and consider some of the possible free agents on the open market:

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Sonics move and become the Oklahoma City, or is it Kansas City, oh wait – Las Vegas Supersonics! In my opinion, good riddance.

Now, let’s bring back our favorite owner Paul Allen. He’s been itching to get out of Portland. Think about it – the Seattle Trailblazers! Bring back Roy, McMillan, Webster. The local boys all back in town again. Tuck in a little Aldridge and Oden. Dude, it’s the ’79 Sonics all over again!

I havne’t been excited about the Sonics since Shawn Kemp was in his prime, and Shannon and I went to 15+ games per year. Last night’s news about Durant (or… Oden? c’mon, Portland, make the unwise draft choice!) thrilled me.

I think there’s hope for Swift. He won’t be a star, but he’ll be a solid center. It’d be eaisier to upgrade the 1 or the 4 with a sign n trade, or else play Rashard at 4 and run and gun. Yeah, that won’t win you an NBA finals – you need slowdown pick n roll to do that, but it’s a heck of a lot better than where we are now.

Being the avid Blazer fan myself. I went to all 3 Blazer games in Seattle (including preseason!) this past season. I gave a hearty yell after they won the draft lottery, called my brother and couldn’t stop saying OMG.

Sorry Sonic fans, the Blazers are staying in Portland and they’re going to be a dynasty. The bandwagon is always open though.

Sure, Eugene, but how many guys like that exist in the NBA? Two or three? I mean, it’d be great to have that in your center, but I wonder if the league has moved away from the need to have a true center with the faster pace and 3 pt line changes.

(I wonder if Beauty and Depravity is really a tagline for the Sonics…)